


Watching You Watching Her

by BookMagpie



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Max 'gay panic' Caulfield
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-21
Updated: 2016-01-21
Packaged: 2018-05-15 09:07:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5779870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BookMagpie/pseuds/BookMagpie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kate Marsh just wants Blackwell to get back to normal. Too bad, because Max Caulfield is here and she is utterly clueless about everything.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Watching You Watching Her

**Author's Note:**

> Pretty much an 'everything is okay' AU. The tornado happened, but nobody really acknowledges it. Whatever.
> 
> Kate Marsh, aka, the most pure character to ever exist. Please, marry me.

Kate Marsh was a creature of habit. She woke up at seven AM on the dot, fed her rabbit, fed herself, and went to get a shower, before anyone else was awake, every day. Art students are not exactly renowned for their fondness of early mornings, and the dorms were usually eerily quiet. No white girl rap coming from Victoria's door, no high pitched giggling as Dana and Taylor texted each other from the same room. Kate liked the chatter that came with living on a floor full of girls, but she liked the emptiness as well.

She entered the dorm bathroom with her towel over her shoulder and her washbag in her hands, humming softly, and came face to face with Chloe Price. Punk rock, literally expelled from Blackwell, Chloe Price.

"Oh."

"Ah, hey, Kate, right? I'm just clearing out, no worries," Punk rock, literally expelled from the school to which this dorm belonged to, Chloe Price said, with an easy smile, as if this happened often.

"Yeah," Kate replied, nodding vaguely.

"You alright? You seem a little spacey, but it's hella early, so...?" Chloe looked at Kate with a frown as Kate blinked.

"I'm fine, thank you," Kate replied, because say what you liked about her upbringing, she was raised with manners, thanks you very much. "I just wasn't expecting anyone."

"Just anyone, or me in particular?" Chloe asked with a sly grin.

Kate nodded. "Well, both, really. It is half past seven."

Chloe groaned, exaggerated, and her entire body moved with it, it was fascinating really. Her legs buckled faintly, her arms sagged, her eyes bulged and rolled. "Don't remind me. If it weren't for Maximus, I'd be asleep. In a real bed, as well, not her fucking sofa. But duty calls."

Kate nodded again. She was aware she was coming off as a faint simpleton, but whatever. It was half seven in the morning and a girl with blue hair was in a bathroom previous assumed empty. "The nightmares."

"You know about them?" Chloe looked surprised, which was a little insulting, truth be told, considering up until a few days, it was Kate that was dealing with the shaking, sleepless photographer, mostly to avoid the thoughts that surrounded her when she was alone.

"Well, yeah. Um, so. I kind of want a shower, so." Kate stumbled through the sentence, pointedly looking at her usual stall, the one furthest away from the door.

"God, yeah. I'll leave you alone now. Nice meeting you," Punk rock, nightmare guardian to Kates Best friend, Chloe Price said, and darted out of the door.

*

"It’s the best diner in town, I promise," Max said, grabbing Kate's hand and pulling a little before dropping it.

"I don't doubt you, and it's not like this town is drowning in good restaurants. I just can't afford it," Kate said back. Taste is pretty far down her list of food priorities, as a student, and really, Max should be the same.

"I'll buy then. The bacon is fucking amazing, okay, and the waffles are like, oh my god, orgasmic. You have to eat here at least once," Max said, and maybe Kate would have argued some more, except they were finally there. 

Max had alternated between enthusing about The Two Whales, and stopping to take some picture of something. Even though Kate was doing exactly the same course as Max, it was still a little baffling to watch her in process, with that retro brick of hers, taking snaps of things Kate would never even imagine would look good. And then of course, the picture would print instantly, and Max would twist her lips, judging it, unaware it was amazing.

No doubt, she would take a picture of the jukebox, but at a weird angle so the lighting gets all messed up, or maybe just her plate of food, like a normal Instagram hipster. Maybe they really artfully arranged the bacon and the orgasmic waffles?

Kate worked out the reason why they were at the Two Whales almost immediately, after spotting the blue hair, and the red tattoo running down the servers arm.

"Mad Max. What brings you here? And, hey, you bought Kate Marsh, everyone's favourite Christian," Chloe Price said, before they even sat down. Max walked to their booth with the confidence of a regular, Chloe talking all the while.

"I'm probably not everyone's favourite Christian," Kate said awkwardly, because she wouldn't really think of anything to reply with.

If that phased Chloe, it didn't show. "You're certainly ours though, and hey, does anyone else really matter compared to us. Honestly?"

"Knock it off, Chloe," Max said, but she didn't hide the pleased grin all that well. When she looked at Chloe, it was different from when she looked at anything else. There was always a hint of criticism, that the angle was wrong, the colouring was off, the subject was misbehaving, that came with being an artist. She looked at Chloe like the shot was perfect.

"I'm sorry, Max. I'm just trying to be nice. It doesn't come naturally to me, you know. Anyway, what'll you two have today, here at the Two Whales." Chloe switched into server mode, sardonic and forced.

"You know what I'll have, and you're damn right it doesn't come naturally to you. You'd be mean to a puppy if it looked you the wrong way."

"I'll have what Max has, if it's alright?" Kate said, hesitant to speak. Partially because it was hard to find a place to fit into their rapport, and partially because it was so interesting to watch them,

"Of course that's fine. In fact, it's a good idea, Max has honed her order down to the best this crappy place can offer," Chloe said with a smile, and then turned to Mac with a scowl. "How was that for fucking nice, huh? I'm the nicest fucking server on the goddamn planet and if a puppy looked at me funny, it would absolutely deserve what it got."

Before Max could reply, Chloe got called away by another waitress, with just enough scowling similarities that Kate guessed they were related.

"What is it that I ordered, by the way?" Kate asked as Max craned her head to get a last view of Chloe Price.

Max laughed, delighted. "Waffles, extra syrup, four rashers of crispy bacon, two fried eggs, and French toast, all dusted with powdered sugar."

"Wow," A heart attack waiting to happen, Kate thought. "Is this going to be as good as you promised."

"Orgasmic." Max rolled the word out in her tongue. Judging by the way she looked at Chloe, it wasn't the only thing she wished was orgasmic.

*

The replacement photography teacher was, to be quite honest, not very good, in Kate’s opinion, and everyone elses. Like, sure they were glad Jefferson was gone, especially Max, but this was not a man who knew what he was doing. Kate guessed that teacher obtained at short notice were probably the ones who were rejected usually, and for good reason.  
For this reason, the girls dorm had a weekly portfolio session to assess each other. Six brains are better than one, after all, plus all the non-photographers in the dorm. It was, surprisingly, Victoria who suggested it, to the entire floor, not just Taylor.

They gathered in the corridor, the core six from the class grouped together. Victoria was outnumbered, four to two, but Kate was never worried anyway. Everyone was quieter since that week.

“So, like, who wants to start. You can’t call me an attention seeker for always being first if no one else steps up, you know,” Victoria said, lazily leaning against the wall, clicking on her state of the art laptop.

Kate decided that, for once, she would volunteer to be first. The group might be more critical of the first portfolio, but wasn’t criticism what she wanted, really? As long as it was constructive as well.

“I will,” Max said, just as Kate started to put her hand up.

She emptied her shoebox of polaroid’s onto the floor. Really, the shoebox was unnecessary, there were maybe ten pictures, but you couldn’t fault Max’s dedication to the aesthetic.

Hands reached out, picking up pictures, trading them with neighbours, passing them around everyone. Kate noticed one thing beyond the ridiculous talent that Max was oblivious to.

“Wow, Max, yet another picture of your girlfriend. Original,” Victoria said, rolling her eyes.

“Chloe’s not my girlfriend. She’s just very photogenic. And we hang out a lot, so. Whatever,” Max blushed.

“She is very photogenic. These are good,” Kate said, to get the attention off the appalling burning of Max’s face. She may as well be called Mars instead, because she was only getting redder with the compliment.

“Yeah. I like the colouring of this one,” Alyssa added. How did that girl manage to sound so bored all the time.

“As if you can even talk, Victoria. I’m guessing your portfolio is another collection of moody, good looking people in monochrome,” Brooke said. Even Taylor laughed at that, if just briefly.

Kate looked over at Max. Her face was resuming a normal colour, and she gathered up the polariods, looking slightly baffled. Was she only just realising now that every picture had Chloe Price in. It wasn’t exactly a surprise, she put together the portfolio.

*

Kate was playing the violin when Max finally figured it out. The fact that she was legitimately clueless was both baffling and adorable. She burst in without her usually warning, causing the violin to squeel, and Victoria to yell.

"Max. Please knock," Kate said, though a quick assessment of her friend face suggest a possible emergency.

"Can I come in. Like, right now. I seriously need to talk to you. Right now." Max said, her voice hiccuping like she did when she was really panicked.

"You're already in. What's wrong. Are you okay?" Kate asked, putting the violin down regretfully. She'd only recently started up again, but Max was in a state, and Max saved her when she was in a state, so it was only fair.

"It's Chloe. Um. Or me. Yeah, it's me. But it's about Chloe," Max said.

"Sit down. Take a breath. What happened? Did you fall out?" Kate asked, guiding Max to her bed with a soft hand on her shoulder.

"No. But we might. This is big stuff, Kate, really big. I just don't know."

"What's happened?" Kate asked again, gently.

"I, oh man, I was hanging out at Chloe's last week, and she was just getting changed, like, in front of me. She's done it thousands of times before, but this time, I couldn't take my eyes off her. I never realised her body looked... like, that," Max made a frustrated movement with her arms that might have meant Chloe's body looked good, or looked like a giant blob.

"Yes, Chloe is quite attractive by societies standards. I've heard people gossip about it quite a lot. Some of it... quite unsavoury." Kate mused.

"What, they think Chloe is ugly?" Max prickled. 

"Quite the opposite. They were talking about, um, what they want to do to her. Quite crudely. I'm sorry, go on," Kate said. Derailing her friends panic with the knowledge that misogynists do still exist was not really her plan.

"Well, god. I just, I haven't been able to get that thought out of my head. Chloe is hot. But also, Chloe is really nice, and funny, and I love being around her, and Kate, I think I really like her. Like, like like her." Max said. "I'm in love with my best friend. What the fuck is wrong with me?"

"Have you talked with Chloe since then?" Kate asked, diplomatically, because if not, she would have had to comment on the fact that Max sounded eerily like a twelve year old with their first crush, and that wouldn't help.

"God, no. I high tailed it out of there as soon as I could. Said I felt sick. Kate, she's my best friend, I can't do this to her. I can't lose her again."

Kate nodded sagely, and then frowned. "Have you considered that you wouldn't lose her?"

"Uh, what are you on about? Oh course I would, duh. She's Chloe Price, she doesn't like me that way." Max said.

There was no easy way to tell someone that their best friend has probably been in love with them far longer than this panic arrived. Frankly, it was ridiculous, and Kate resented the task. "Max, Chloe absolutely likes you that way. It's honestly painful to watch, and I would have expected better from both of you."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Go talk to her. Please."

"Um. Alright. Sorry. About interrupting you and being all miserable and shit," Max said.

"You're still not talking to Chloe," Kate said, maybe more abruptly than she would have wished, but goddamn, this was ridiculous.

"Right. On it. Sorry."


End file.
